Death by Black Hole and Why Science Education is so Important

Neil DeGrasse Tyson is that rare scientist (Astro-physicist to be exact) whose love of science is positively infectious. I read his book (above) after seeing him on The Daily Show. It only took that one 10 minute interview to see this guy was really passionate about science and that his book was one that needed reading. Here’s a video via Boing Boing that demonstrates his jovial demeanor, even as he talks about something as horrible as death by black hole and asteroids hitting the Earth (don’t worry, this video is out dated an that asteroid isn’t going to hit Earth).

What I’d really like is someone like him to be a face for science in America. Someone who makes kids interested in science and take it up as passionately as he has. It’s how he gained his own interest in the sciences, by way of the space program and simply being given a telescope to view the stars from his child hood apartment in New York. Maybe the new Moon and Mars program will do the same, but I worry that with the stupidity of Creationism and lower funding for science and math in public schools, that America might lose it’s place as the center for scientific research. When Bill Gates is worrying about how many engineers our schools are producing, especially compared to China and India, than this could become a huge problem for the long term future of the United States. I’m hopeful that the new Obama Administration will be more open to science (his Secretary of Energy is actually a scientist!), but this is something that needs to start now, so that in 30 years America is still unquestionably the center of science and research.